~ Grace upon grace, One blessing after another

I’ve Never Raised One Before

Sometimes marriage and parenthood and careers are hard. It’s hard to juggle life and all of its facets and find the right balance. It’s just my opinion…but I feel like if there was a manual on how to live life perfectly, that would be nice. Turns out, there are lots of different ways to parent your children, families have all sorts of different priorities compared to other families and each marriage is so unique! What works with one child might backfire on another. What makes me feel loved doesn’t necessarily make Wes feel loved. It gets so confusing sometimes and I can be so unforgiving of myself.

A few weeks ago, I was asking Wes what he thinks about a behavior Taylor was beginning to exhibit that I didn’t really like. I didn’t know how to handle it or if it was even something to worry about. The way Wes responded has really influenced my thinking lately and I feel like it has helped me to lighten up and give myself grace. He said, “I’m not sure; I’ve never raised a kid before.” At first, I thought that was not a helpful answer because it didn’t directly solve my problem. He didn’t tell me how I should respond to Taylor or what would be best. Instead, his answer told me that it was okay that I didn’t know.

I don’t know how to be the best mom in the whole world, I don’t know how to be a perfect wife (I do know how to be rather selfish sometimes), I don’t know the perfect balance between work and family life. And that is okay. I’ve never raised a kid before. I’ve never been married this long before. I’ve never been exactly where I am before.

I do know that I have so many people to learn from, amazing mothers to watch, strong marriages to observe, and healthy working and stay-at-home moms to listen to. I know that God has called me to live for him in all of the ways he set forth in his Word. I also know that he has called me in specific ways that will make my family, marriage and career unique. I can’t emulate anyone else completely because I am my own person and I need to give myself for grace for not having it all figured out now.